Hugh the Great

Hugh the Great (898-16 June 956) was the Count of Paris and Duke of the Franks under West Francia. A powerful magnate, Hugh fought against King Louis IV of France, whose father Charles the Simple had slain Hugh's father Robert I of France. Hugh's son Hugh Capet would become the King of France as the first Capetian monarch in 987, 31 years after Hugh the Great's death.

Biography
Hugh was the son of Robert I of France and Beatrice of Vermandois, and he refused the crown of West Francia after his father's death at Soissons in 923, allowing his brother-in-law Rudolph of France to inherit the throne instead. In 936, he inherited almost all of the lands between the Loire and Seine rivers, essentially Neustria without Normandy and the County of Anjou. In 937, he married Hedwige of Saxony, the daughter of Henry the Fowler and Matilda of Ringelheim, forming an alliance against Louis IV of France. In 939, Hugh and William I Longsword of Normandy were attacked by King Louis IV, and Hugh paid homage to Holy Roman Emperor Otto the Great to receive his support. In 945, King Louis fell into the hands of Hugh, who freed him in 946 in exchange for the fortress of Laon. In 948, he was excommunicated by several bishops, so Hugh responded by attacking Soissons and Reims, but he made peace with Louis after his sentence was repeated at Trier. He recognized Lothair of France as his successor, and he was instrumental in having him crowned. Hugh was invested with Burgundy and Aquitaine in exchange for his services, and he died in 956. His son Hugh Capet would be the first leader of the House of Capet in France.